GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- June 3 to 6, 2021
- Europa Sport Park, Berlin
- 50m
- Event page
- Results
19-year-old Anna Elendt raced her way to a new German national record on day 2 of the 2021 German Championships.
Competing in the women’s 100m breaststroke, the teen fired off a time of 1:06.50, becoming the first-ever woman from her nation to break through the 1:07 barrier. And she did so in a big way.
Prior to this met, Elendt’s lifetime best rested at the 1:07.17 she logged in Berlin this past April. Already here at these championships, she was near that mark, producing a prelims result of 1:07.56 en route to taking the top seed.
This evening, Elendt got off to a speedy front half of 31.69 before closing in 34.81 en route to her new record of 1:06.50. In addition to hacking more than half a second off of her own career-quickest mark, her time overtook the previous German standard of 1:07.01 Sarah Poewe put on the books during the supersuited era of 2009.
Post-race, Elendt said, “I never expected that. I wasn’t even taped down for this competition.
“I’m just happy. On the one hand we changed my racing tactics, on the other hand I trained a lot more chest style than before, and that paid off. I used to do a lot more pulls on the first 50 meters and that took a lot more strength. Now I can swim the same time, if not faster, with fewer strokes for the first 50 meters.”
Elendt had already qualified for the German squad for this summer’s Olympic Games as a relay swimmer.
Stateside, Elendt is a member of the University of Texas women’s swimming team.
